The present invention relates generally to flow control, and more particularly, to flow control over extended distances.
Data Center Ethernet (DCE) is an emerging industry standard, which proposes modifications to existing networks, in an effort to position Ethernet as the preferred convergence fabric for all types of data center traffic. A recent study has found that Ethernet is the convergence fabric, with I/O consolidation in a Data Center as shown in FIG. 1. This consolidation is expected to simplify platform architecture and reduce overall platform costs.
Major changes have been proposed for DCE (also referred to as enhanced Ethernet and low latency Ethernet), including the addition of credit based flow control at the link layer, congestion detection and data rate throttling, and the addition of virtual lanes with quality of service differentiation. It is important to note that these functions do not affect Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), which exists above the DCE level. It should also be noted that DCE is intended to operate without necessitating the overhead of TCP/IP. This offers a much simpler, low cost approach that does not require processing or accelerators.